ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRM Prof. SARA BONESSO

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRMProf. SARA BONESSO

2. Calender From 07.11.2011 to 12.12.2011 Holiday Monday 21 November Last class: Monday 12 December

3. Courseoverview The organization design issues and problems • Does organization matters? Introduction to organization design • The variables which orientate the organization design process • The organization of work – micro structure • Design variables • Division of labour (horizontal and vertical) • Coordination and control mechanisms • Forms of organization • Firm boundaries and networks

4. Recommended Reading List • Douma S. Schreuder H., 2008, Economic approaches to organizations, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall (4th edition), chapters 1, 8. • Mintzberg H., 1979. The structuring of organization: a synthesis of the research, Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, chapters 1, 2, 10 (pages161-168), 11. • Grandori A., 2001, Organization and economic behavior, 2 edition, London Routledge, Chapter 4 (122-124), Chapter 8, 10, 11, 12 (pages 219-252, 300-411). • Whittington R., Pettigrew A., Peck S., Fenton E., Conyon M., 1999. Change and Complementarities in the New Competitive Landscape: a European Panel Study, 1992-1996, Organization Science, 10(5), 583-600. • Powerpointpresentations • Furthermaterials (cases, articles) available on the dropbox folder “Organizationof the firm_materials) http://venus.unive.it/orgaz

5. Assessment(1) • Oralexam • Recommendedreadings • Powerpointpresentationsavailable on the web site of the course • Fourexamsessions • 13 January 2012, room 8B, from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. • 27 January 2012, room 3B, from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. • 1 exam in May/June 2012 • 1 exam in September 2012

6. Assessment(2): Project work Objective • The purpose of the project work activities is to provides students with the opportunity and challenge to apply the theoretical concepts acquired throughout the course to real cases. Guidelines • Form small group of 4-5 students • Each group will identify one topic related to organizational design issues (e.g. case of organization redesign; cases of specific organization form….). Materials can cover articles, company profiles downloaded from the websites; interviews of managers, etc. • Each group will prepare a written report. • The written report needs to include theory as well as your analysis, main findings, and conclusions. This report should not exceed 20 pages, font 11 pt normal, paragraphs justified using single spacing • In total this assignment is worth from 1 to 3 points added to the final grade of the oral exam. • WithinFriday 18th Novembersendto bonesso@unive.it: • Name and e-mail addressof the project leader and groupmembers • WithinWednesday 21th Decembersendto bonesso@unive.it the final report

7. Some ideasfor project work • Describe and analysecasesoforganization re-design • At micro level (job analysis) • At macro level (shiftfrom a organizationformtoanother) Identify the causes, analyse the design variables and the advantagesof the newstructure • Chooseonecoordinationmechanism (teams, standardization…) and analyseitscharacteristicsbymeans the discussionofrealcases • Selectoneorganizationform and identifyitscharacteristics, itsadvantages and disadvantagesbymeans the discussionofrealcases

8. TeachingMethods • in-class lessons • case studies • team work • visual supported training • SPEACH AND WORKSHOP (to be defined)

9. CONTACT INFORMATION Web site of the course http://venus.unive.it/orgaz Program, Presentation, Materials (Username e Password), Calender, Links

10. Online Ebsco database - unive.it Financial times BBC Knowledge Wharton Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge Business Week Economist BBC institutions European Group for Organizational Studies European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management European Academy of Management On lineresources